Kalgoorlie School of the Air

Statement of Significance

Assessment of Significance: Kalgoorlie School of the Air is a well proportioned and executed example of Federation Arts and Crafts architecture applied to a school building. It is significant for its expansive hip and gable roof, red face-brickwork enlivened with string courses, fenestration and robust timber detailing which constitute the elevations to Brookman and Piesse Streets. The rear elevation is more modest as it was intended to have additions attached to it. (Criterion 1.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is a competent design from Hillson Beasley’s time at the Public Works Department and displays qualities typical of Beasley’s high standards. Planning and elevations are well resolved and the detailed elements are of a high order, particularly the joinery elements of the gables and porches. (Criterion 1.2)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air contributes to the aesthetic qualities of the built environment in central Boulder. It is an integral part of a group of places of aesthetic value which contribute to the character of central Boulder. (Criterion 1.4)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is the earliest of the remaining purpose built technical education buildings in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and probably the oldest of this class in the State. Earlier technical schools began their operation in existing buildings. It is significant in relation to the introduction of technical education. (Criterion 2.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is significant for its close associations with J. F. Lynch, the second superintendent of the Technical School who went on to become Director of Kalgoorlie School of Mines, then Superintendent of Technical Education and with Mrs Lorna Mitchell, special educationalist. (Criterion 2.3)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air was the fourth School of the Air and continues to operate as a school of the air. The building has been adapted in a variety of ways and a study of the place in detail has the potential to yield information on the development of the facilities that are required to provide school of the air services. (Criterion 3.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air has been highly valued by the community for its educational associations from the time of its role in technical education through its present role as Kalgoorlie School of the Air. (Criterion 4.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is closely associated with the core area of the Boulder town centre and as part of the group of places in the centre contributes to the community's sense of place. (Criterion 4.2)
Kalgoorlie School of the Air is the only remaining example of a Technical Education building from the Gold Rush period in the Eastern goldfields. It is possibly the oldest extant Technical Education building in the State. (Criterion 5.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is characteristic of the Federation Arts and Crafts style of architecture applied to an educational building. Its planning is a conventional program for its time and is representative of a mainstream form. (Criterion 6.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Airis important as a fine, representative example of a small technical school. (Criterion 6.1)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is representative of the work of Hillson Beasley's school designs and of the requirements of Technical Education at the turn of the twentieth century. (Criterion 6.2)

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is representative of the development and rapid growth of educational institutions in the Eastern Goldfields from the late 1800's. (Criterion 6.2)

Statement of Significance: Kalgoorlie School of the Air, the former Boulder Technical School, a gabled single storeyed, red face-brick school building in the Federation Arts and Craft style has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:

- the place is significant as one of the first purpose built Technical Schools in the State;

- the place is an historic building which retains a high degree of authenticity and integrity in good condition;

- the place is a competent and representative example of the school design work of prominent Government Architects John Grainger and Hillson Beasley;

- the place has aesthetic value as a well-built and finely designed Federation Arts and Crafts building;

- the place is associated with F. J. Lynch, the second Superintendent, who later became Superintendent of Technical Education in 1929 serving in that capacity until 1942;

- the place is a fine representative example of a small technical school;

- the place engenders a sense of place and continuity for the people of Boulder, generations of whom were educated there;

- the place is representative of the development and rapid growth of educational institutions in the Eastern Goldfields and is one of a small number of technical educational institutions developed in Boulder; and,

- Kalgoorlie School of the Air , the fourth established in Western Australia, forms an important educational and communication link in remote areas around Kalgoorlie.

Other elements on the site have little cultural heritage significance. These include the lavatory block, pergolas, perimeter fencing, bitumen paving and soft landscaping elements.

Physical Description

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is gabled iron roof single storeyed, red face-brick school building in the Federation Arts and Craft style (Apperly et al, 1989).

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is just out of the Boulder City centre to the north of the Boulder Town Hall, which faces on to Burt Street, the main city street. It is located close to the core of the city centre and is an integral part of the historic core of the centre and in relation to a number of other minor domestic structures which were constructed in the last few years of the nineteenth century. The site, like most of Boulder is flat and is made up of reactive soils. The streets surrounding the site are broad with eight metre roads set in generous road reserves and the streets have well spaced plantings of Queensland box trees (Lephostorum conferta).

The buildings comprise the original school building and a toilet block from the Inter-War period and shelters. Kalgoorlie School of the Air is close to the Brookman Street and Piesse Street boundaries. The site has a replacement galvanised tubular steel and chainlink fence to the street boundaries. The original fences were post rail and chainlink to the Brookman Street elevation and a close boarded picket fence to the Piesse Street elevation. The grounds are bitumen paved with areas of lawn to the east of the building and plantings of Cypressus and Erithryna to the edges and in the lawn areas. The lawned area to the east also contains various Eucalyptus species. Immediately around the building is an air drain filled with granite chippings. This in turn is surrounded by bitumen and concrete paving adjacent to all elevations.

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is a rectangular plan building. It has an eccentrically located entrance which leads to the administration rooms and via a hallway to a central corridor onto which all the rooms discharge. The exterior of the building is simply expressed in brick, render, joinery and iron in the Federation Arts and Crafts style.

The street elevations are organised around steeply pitched gables which are richly decorated with robustly detailed joinery, gable vents and roughcast render. The walls are made of well burnt local bricks with render bands at plinth, sill and window head height. The wall plane is articulated where the gables occur and the windows are tall slender combinations of double hung windows and awning lights. The roof is steeply pitched and is clad with custom orb profile Colorbond steel. The roofscape is enriched by tall brick and render chimneys.

The gables are bracketed off the walls with short timber consoles. One of the Brookman Street gables has the entry set beneath it. The entry is accentuated by the inclusion of rectangular pilasters, a broad set of steps and bracketed awning. The joinery work to the awning follows in the same styling as the joinery in the gables.

The rear of the building is more utilitarian and the southern end of this elevation was designed to allow a further addition along Piesse Street to be made. This addition was never realised and the straight joints to a potential connecting corridor is the only physical evidence that remains of this intention.

The overall composition of the elements of the elevations, the colouring of the bricks and the detailing of the joinery is a robust rendering of the Federation Arts and Crafts style.

The entrance hall is modest and passes staff accommodation to the north and a former classroom to the south. The hall links into the central corridor off which all rooms are linked.

The central two classrooms have had their corridor walls removed to form a large hall space in the 1962 works, when the toilets were also modified and a kitchen installed in the original library. All classrooms have either corner fireplaces or fireplaces located along the centre of the outer wall, combining elements of Poole and Beasley’s classroom design principles.

The exterior of the building remains close to its original form with only the school fencing modifies and some minor alterations to fenestration on the eastern facade where two toilets were introduced into one of the earlier rooms. The interior has been altered to a minor degree in the two southern rooms, but all other rooms have been altered to suit the needs of Kalgoorlie School of the Air.

Other historic structures such as the workshops and 1906 blacksmith’s shop which were located on the eastern side of the building were removed in 1962, and most of the original fittings seem to have been removed from this point onwards. A shelter shed on the northern boundary has also been removed.

Kalgoorlie School of the Air has been regularly maintained and following minor works in 1997/8 is in reasonable condition, by and large reflecting its original design intent. A number of structural problems caused by the reactive soils have been treated and there are areas of eroded brickwork in the brick plinth which remain of concern.

There is a brick and iron toilet block to the east of the school building and this remains in near original condition externally. It is not part of the original concept, but is functionally related to the school and visually unobtrusive.

Kalgoorlie School of the Air is in good condition. Maintenance has been regular and effective and recent conservation works have stabilised a number of structural and damp related concerns.

Although Kalgoorlie School of the Air no longer serves its intended purpose as a technical education school, it remains in use as an educational facility, though not one to which students frequent. Its role is now a resource base for education to remote areas. This use is compatible with its heritage values.

The exterior of the building remains little altered since it was constructed and most of the room plans are in the same form as they were originally conceived. Some adaptation for the purposes of running the place has been made.

History

Kalgoorlie School of the Air, a brick and stucco building with a corrugated iron roof in the Federation Arts and Crafts Style was built as the Boulder Technical School in 1905, to plans designed by the Public Works Department. It is located on Reserve 8883-253 on the corner of Piesse and Brookman Streets, Boulder. The building sits close to the south west edge of the site and is set in an open lawned and bitumen paved landscape.

Technical education classes in Western Australia were started in Perth and Fremantle as evening schools in 1898. These evening classes were organised by local committees assisted by Government Grants and funded by enrolment fees. There were 760 on the rolls in 1898 (Education Department Report, 1899, Vol. 1, No. 15: 42).

From 1900, technical evening classes were held at the Boys’ State Schools in Boulder and Kalgoorlie, run by local management boards. In 1904 the administration of the Boulder City evening classes was handed over to the Education Department (Lawson, n.d.). The School of Mines was set up in the Exhibition Building in Coolgardie and transferred to its own campus in Kalgoorlie in 1904, the same year that Boulder Technical School was established in temporary accommodation (Smith, 1995: 26). Boulder Technical School was a branch school of Perth Technical School. By 1911, there were five technical schools in the Goldfields and six others in Perth and regional centres.

Boulder Technical School, a purpose-built technical school, was constructed in 1905 at a cost of £3,393. The design was a combination of work by John Grainger and Hillson Beasley. Grainger was frequently ill or away on duties and the final hand in many designs was that of Hillson Beasley. Designs were drawn by draftsmen WW and WBH (Hardwick) (PWDWA 429 Microfiche ‘School of the Air’). The Kalgoorlie Miner described the opening, which took place in June 1906:

“Boulder Technical School - this building has been erected at a cost of £3,393 pounds being constructed of brick with cement dressings. The accommodation provided consists of two lecture-rooms, two class-rooms, chemical and physical laboratories, director's library, instructor's room, dark-room, offices and conveniences. In a detached block are workshops for carpentry, plumbing and metalworking. Electric light is installed throughout” (historical notes supplied by CAMS taken from CAMS records. CAMS Premise No. 3092; and Kalgoorlie Miner, 6 August 1947).

The first head was Mr J. Adams. His title was Superintendent. The initial enrolment was 60 students but demand was so great that the term closed with 185 (National Trust of Australia (WA) notes supplied by CAMS on disc). Classes in dressmaking, photography and mathematics featured along side carpentry, blacksmithing, and metalwork. Continuation classes were also available.

Mr J. Lynch succeeded Mr Adams in 1907. After 1907, rapid expansion of classes took place in trade courses, commerce and women’s arts until the depression years (Lawson, n.d.). In 1911, the staff consisted of Lynch; S. Vine Hall, Instructor in Mechanical Drawing; Frank Glenister, Instructor in Typewriting; T. M. Ede, Instructor in Book Keeping and Accountancy; Sydney Martin, Assistant Instructor in Book Keeping and Accountancy; Sophia Knowles, Instructor in Dresscutting and Millinery; W. H. Frick, Instructor in Ordinary Subjects and Arithmetic and Mensuration; R. D. Lemmon, Instructor in Carpentry; P. W. Swainson, Instructor in Plumbing; and, Frank Mitchell Instructor in Blacksmithing.

In 1913, additions were made to the Workshop Block to cater for changes either in the curriculum or enrolment (PWDWA 1637?). Circa 1914, Lynch became Director of the Kalgoorlie School of Mines and was replaced by David Thompson . Thompson only had the title of Officer-in-Charge, so there must have been some sort of scaling back, perhaps due to war time emergency. Thompson retained his position for 15 years, until 1930 (National Trust of Australia (WA) notes supplied by CAMS on disc). The war has a significant impact on the number of staff and students and the amount of money available for maintenance. The Apprentices Act of 1918 attempted to preserve places for servicemen to return, while continuing normal operations of the school.

The 1920 report of the Royal Commission into education in Western Australia, presented by Peter Board of NSW, criticised the technical education provided in the State, indicating that too much commercial and office type courses were being delivered. Premier Mitchell also reintroduced fees for non vocational students. The 'general education' courses were severely reduced as a consequence. Finance was also cut for maintenance. Education was narrowed to a more technical bias.

In 1925, the Collier Government introduced day-release training for workers. This occurred in the employers' time and at their expense, but difficulties with implementing this policy this meant by 1929, only 64% of trades were complying. Neither employers or unions were happy with the concept and technical education fell into disrepute. Meanwhile in Boulder, under the direction of Thompson, Sheet Metalworking, Commercial Law and Auditing, English, Mechanical Drawing and Shorthand were added to the subjects available in 1926. However, Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Plumbing and Ordinary Subjects were no longer taught.

Allen retired from Head of Technical Education in 1928. Lynch was transferred to Perth and became Superintendent of Technical Education in 1929. Back at Boulder, Leon Zeffert, the Commercial Master who followed Thompson in 1930 was appointed 'Principal'. His task was made difficult with the onset of the Great Depression and consequent Western Australian Government cutbacks. Continuing education classes at Perth Technical School were discontinued and preparatory technical classes were substituted. It is probable that similar changes were made in Boulder. The drop in enrolments during the Depression almost caused the closure of Boulder Technical School (Lawson, n.d.). There was a temporary freeze on staffing, building and purchase of equipment.

Mr Whitton B.A. replaced Zeffert as the Principal of Boulder Technical School and drawings for proposed new workshops were made c. 1933 (PWDWA 1071, 1933). Slow post-Depression recovery influenced the education policy of successive Labour Governments between 1933 and 1947. A goldmining boom, led by Claude de Bernales, lessened the adverse economic effects in Western Australia somewhat. Improvements in enrolments at the Boulder Technical School began to take place from 1935, and the school became known as the Eastern Goldfields Technical School (Lawson, n.d.).

In 1940, Stacey Turner A.I.F.A. became principal and during his term in office, the school's activities were expanded by the addition of self supporting classes in dresscutting and pre-apprenticeship classes (National Trust of Australia (WA) notes supplied by CAMS on disc). Additions were made to the carpenter's shop (PWDWA 29417). The years of World War II saw a modest expansion of the school, as military personnel took advantage of the availability of technical education (Lawson, n.d.).

Lynch retired as Superintendent of Technical Education in 1942, and was succeeded by Leslie W. Phillips (Phillips [from Victoria] had studied at the University of London at the time of the introduction of the National Certificate and Diploma courses). Phillips prepared a report on the State's technical training needs that was implemented. He favoured the introduction of Associateship & Diploma courses. Legislation was passed by the Western Australian Parliament in 1943, which extended compulsory education to 15 years of age. The Commonwealth Reconstruction and Training Scheme was also instituted throughout Australia about this time. The WA committee, chaired by Phillips, reported in 1944. These events all had a bearing on what was taught at Boulder and the equipment and facilities required.

Following World War II, Mr R. N. Lawson B.A. became principal. The school's activities expanded to include a full time dressmaking course and day classes for engineering apprentices. It played an important part in the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme with a total enrolment of 800 students (National Trust of Australia (WA) notes supplied by CAMS on disc). The Kalgoorlie Hippodrome had to be used as an annexe to cope with the increase in enrolments. Day classes in carpentry, plumbing, sheet-metal work and boilermaking were introduced in 1945; engineering was introduced the following year (Lawson, n.d.). PWD Drawing 1071/39 shows the block plan of Kalgoorlie School of the Air at this time.

In 1947, W. (George) Hayman was Acting Superintendent of Technical Education. His report 'Development of Technical Education in Western Australia' changed the direction of this branch of the Education Department. The emphasis on supplementing 'trade' training for apprentices was replaced with the ambition to provide full-time technical and academic courses for vocations. These were classed as Associateship, Diploma and Certificate courses of four, three or less years, as well as some secondary education. A diagram of the structure in force is shown in the Technical Education Handbook of 1948.

In 1947, a new technical school was established midway between Kalgoorlie and Boulder and many of the trade courses were transferred to the new site (Lawson, n.d.). This transfer left commercial and domestic arts, together with general technical courses at the Boulder site.

Part-time courses were provided for those already in employment. They included Diploma, Certificate, Trade and special courses (the specific courses available at Boulder has not been investigated). Hayman became Superintendent of Technical Education in 1949, and remained in that position until 1962. Hayman oversaw the implementation of the reforms he had signalled in his earlier report. As part of this implementation, the Boulder Technical School became Boulder High School. Whether this was a new name for the courses that were being taken or a new use for a now obsolete building following an amalgamation is uncertain.

From 1952, the building housed the Boulder High School, a three year technical type school offering a Commercial Junior Course, with a Home Science course for first and second year classes. An 'opportunity class' was also established (CAMS file notes). The block Plan of the School in 1955, is held in the CAMS collection. However, the building was no longer suitable for the requirements placed on it and when the new wing at Eastern Goldfields High School was completed in 1962, the two schools amalgamated, with activities centred at the Eastern Goldfields High School.

Drawings were made to convert Boulder Technical School for use as a 'Slow Learners Occupation Centre', primarily for those affected by the Rubella epidemics of a few years earlier. These were undertaken in 1962/3. Further repairs and renovation took place in 1969/70, by which time the building was known as the 'Special Education Centre' (PWDWA Att. to 150305). Whether this is merely a strategic change of name or a change of focus has not been established. By 1977, when it was Recorded by the National Trust of Western Australia, the Special Education Centre was under the direction of Mrs Lorna Mitchell, a former Coolgardie Primary pupil and Eastern Goldfields High School student. It was sometimes referred to as the 'Lorna Mitchell Centre'.

In 1991, the building became 'Kalgoorlie School of the Air '. The first school of the air in Western Australia was established in 1957, to cater for correspondence pupils in remote areas. The fourth School of the Air commenced in Kalgoorlie in 1962. This was the precursor to the current school, located in the former Boulder Technical School, which became Kalgoorlie School of the Air .

In 1997, minor works were undertaken to provide production standard studios in former classrooms and in 1998 minor works were undertaken to stabilise the structure and replace damaged brickwork.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High
Authenticity: High

Condition

Good

Uses

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

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